2025-03-17T12:40:13-04:00

“It is my passion that drives me as an Entrepreneur.”

Deborah Rosati, an award-winning entrepreneur and corporate director, has been defined in three interconnected ways throughout her 35-year career: as a champion of corporate governance, a catalyst for change, and a community builder.

As the founder and CEO of Women Get On Board Inc. (WGOB), a social-purpose company with over 1,000 members, Deborah is building a community of the next generation of women corporate directors. WGOB amplifies the voices of women leaders, board members, and professionals across Canada through education, mentorship, and allyship. It has been termed The Power of Three—one woman in the boardroom is a token, two is a presence, and three is a voice.

Deborah is a distinguished corporate director, currently chairing the board of Profound Impact Corporation. She has also chaired several public company audit committees and nominating and corporate governance committees. Additionally, Deborah has led and served on numerous special committees with various mandates, including going public and private, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and special investigations.

Deborah’s passion for good governance and board diversity stems from her experiences as often the only woman in the boardroom. These firsthand encounters have strengthened her belief that having more women on boards leads to better business outcomes.

Constantly striving for improvement, Deborah seeks to challenge expectations and drive change. She brings an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) perspective to every board she serves, believing in businesses’ power and responsibility to enhance our world.

As a visionary leader, Deborah and her co-founders, Sherry Shannon Vanstone and Lara Zink, recently launched Women Funding Women Inc. (WFW) to address the funding gap for women founders.

Deborah’s commitment to sustainable change and empowerment, combined with her extensive governance knowledge, financial expertise, and engaging personality, has positioned her as a sought-after thought leader and speaker. Her insights on corporate governance, sustainability, equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI), and social impact are highlighted on her website, deborahrosati.ca.

“As leaders, we have a civic duty to elevate the next generation of women leaders by advocating for their economic empowerment and financial freedom so they can make independent decisions. We can achieve this empowerment through education, mentorship, and allyship.”

The INSIGHT Series: Joining a Board: Tips & Strategic Advice

On March 6, Deborah will be speaking at the WoodGreen’s Young Leaders Council, which brings together over 100 of Toronto’s most ambitious and compassionate young professionals for networking and inspiration. At this special International Women's Day event, she'll be speaking alongside Gurbani Marwah, Executive Director, Cineplex, Film & Board Member, The WoodGreen Foundation and Sandra Bussin, Board Member, Don Valley Community Legal Services & Past Deputy Mayor of the City of Toronto, to discuss how women can navigate [...]

#AccelerateAction: Women Moving the Dial

On March 5, Deborah will be a featured speaker at #AccelerateAction: Women Moving the Dial, presented by the Canadian Technology Law Association. This International Women's Day celebration in Toronto is an empowering evening of inspiration and networking, featuring four extraordinary women sharing their stories about impact. Through engaging discussions and personal insights, the changemakers will share how they have accelerated action and paved the way for a more inclusive and equitable future. This year’s theme, “Accelerate Action,” challenges us all [...]

HER Unbreakable Journey: The Power Of I Am

On February 28, Deborah will be a featured speaker at HER Unbreakable Journey: The Power Of I Am, presented by I Am Unbreakable® Global Media and The Scotiabank Women Initiative®. Aligning with this year's International Women’s Day theme of Accelerate Action, the event celebrates the voices of remarkable leaders, trailblazers, changemakers, founders, entrepreneurs and CEOs. The exceptional women featured have each defied expectations, overcome unimaginable obstacles and achieved personal and professional greatness. More information: https://iamunbreakable.com/events/

Deborah, as Founder and CEO of Women Get on Board was instrumental in facilitating my board career by providing advice on criteria’s to be given an opportunity to sit on a board. Deborah has grown WGOB from a Toronto based organization to one that is national. She willingly shares her 20+ years experience of sitting on boards for the benefit of others. She is a mentor, sponsor and promoter of numerous women in their board journey. She provides thought leadership and gives back to her community with the invaluable work on CPA Canada’s advisory committees. I know that my board journey would look a lot different without the support and insight of Deborah and WGOB.”

Wendy Kei, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D, Chair of Ontario Power Generation, member of Women Get On Board, Mentor for the Inaugural WGOB Mentorship Program
Deborah Rosati is Canada’s Connector. She focuses her time, energy, passion, insights and wisdom towards connecting, promoting and empowering women to corporate boards. Deborah unites women and men across the country in an effort to drive diversity and women’s equality in boardrooms. Deborah founded Women Get On Board in 2015, and has since established a community of over 650 women and men who are on their board journey. Through Women Get On Board, panels discussions, podcasts and more, Deborah has elevated the bar for good governance, boardroom diversity, equity and inclusion. Furthermore, through Women Get On Board’s Mentorship program, Deborah is grooming the next generation of corporate directors. Deborah leads with passion and inspires everyone she meets with her relentless energy and commitment to helping people and companies flourish.

Deborah’s authenticity and approach to relationship building is unrivaled in the realm of board diversity and corporate board building.

Alyssa Barry, CPIR, Principal & Cofounder, irlabs, Advisory Council member & Sponsor of the WGOB Mentorship Program

Deborah has a unique ability to see a need, but then to invest the effort to create a vision and an ecosystem to address the need. We came together with a shared vision of helping accelerate gender parity on corporate Boards. From that shared vision, we co-created and co-deliver the Getting Board Ready program, targeted at women looking to land their first corporate Board seat. I have had an inside view to her passion, her collaborative nature, her willingness to pay it forward, her expertise, and her acute business savvy. A well of ideas, she seems to have a sixth sense on how to brand and market, and is a force to be reckoned with.

Andrea Plotnick, Ph.D, SVP Board and Executive Solutions at LHH-Knightsbridge & Co-Facilitator with Deborah on the Getting Board Ready Program

Deborah is an outstanding change advocate and continually connects, promotes and empowers women for board service. She is an exceptional entrepreneur who is able to apply her training as a financial expert and operational knowledge of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of running a business, to educate and empower her young team. I believe unequivocally that Deborah is a deserving recipient of an RBC Canadian Entrepreneur Award and I am honoured to support her nomination.

Donna Price, Governance Coach
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